Highway Patrol focusing on DWI enforcement during St. Patty's

The Missouri State Highway Patrol will be increasing its enforcement and traffic monitoring efforts during the St. Patrick’s Day holiday with a focus on taking impaired drivers off the road.

The highway patrol is to join with local law enforcement agencies across Missouri during the St. Patrick’s Day holiday March 14 through 17 with DWI saturation efforts on Missouri’s highways.

According to the Patrol, 205 people were killed and 3,513 seriously injured in crashes involved an impaired driving in 2012 in Missouri. Impaired driving reportedly contributed to more than a quarter of all Missouri fatal traffic crashes.